Archive for the ‘Sales Culture’ Category

Sales is a game, though not always a numbers game that some would suggest —it’s more of a mental game.

Every year, I work with hundreds of salespeople across broad range of industries. What strikes me most is the chasm between high and low performers. This distinction is a matter of mindset, measured by a deep passion for success.

If you haven’t made a sale in a few weeks, or heaven forbid months, you should be anxious. That state should change to frustration and, if that persists, then raw anger! By anger, I don’t mean slapping customers in the face until they buy. I refer to a deep sense of injustice for not succeeding at what you do that transforms into action and results. This sensation is essential to all creatures that compete for survival in any jungle.

Get up close and personal with your competitors. Don’t be scared: they won’t bite. Hmm, some might, so proceed carefully.

Sales is a contact sport and when it comes to competitors it should be full body contact! Most markets are saturated with competitors manoeuvring themselves in their most attractive guises to lure the affection of would-be customers.

Competition serves the collective as merchants are kept on their toes. Customers are able to select a provider that best meets their needs or desires. Many businesspeople under-estimate their competitors—pretending they don’t exist or that what they do is somehow irrelevant or somehow inferior in comparison. Don’t make that mistake.

You have to be prepared to take a risk or two to succeed. But don’t expect your customers to have the same level of zest for risk-taking.

Particularly when they know they will ultimately pay for it when the risk turns sour, or you, as the salesperson, under-delivers.

For the most part, taking risks is a tense and uncomfortable experience for a customer. Each customer will have a different risk threshold: a level of perceived risk they are willing to move towards but never cross over. As sales professionals we can at times under-estimate the inherent risks relating to what we sell.

How hard is it to find good old fashioned service these days?! I mean the kind of service that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

The type of interaction between two people that creates such a meaningful experience for you ― you just have to tell other people about it?

We all love great service. So why then it is so bloody hard to find?! Great service is not that difficult to achieve. All it takes is some common sense and a willingness to make other people feel good. It’s that simple. In fact, it’s so easy anyone can do it and it takes very little effort.

In 1988 I watched in horror as my childhood hero Carl Lewis was blown away by Ben Johnson in the men’s 100m final at the Seoul Olympic Games.

The ripped and bulging Canadian sprinter launched out of the blocks to blaze to a new world record time of 9.79 seconds. To my relief, three days later, Johnson was stripped of his gold medal and banned for testing positive to steroids. Lewis was then unceremoniously anointed as the Olympic champion, and faith was restored to my little world.

Not many records can endure the vacillation of time. Johnson’s drug assisted time was considered only possible because he used a banned substance. His time has since been broken on several occasions. Usain Bolt is the reigning Olympic champion and world recorder holder, clocking in a 9.58 seconds. May I be so bold as to suggest that one day a man of freakish ability will run it in eight seconds?

One of the most valuable asset’s you can create in business is called a ‘friendship with benefits’.

Not the touchy and feeling kind, rather an enduring relationship between a customer and vendor that contributes to both in a meaningful way. Acquaintances, we can take or leave. Typically surface level, these relationships hold little lasting value. Unfortunately, the majority of customers are treated this way because staff are not empowered habitually with the right knowledge and skills.

Its vital businesses get this right: how you treat people in a commercial situation shouldn’t differ that much to a social setting. The same essentials apply, such as; empathy, common courtesy, respect, keeping our word, and above all a genuine interest in the other party’s best interests. Think about the people we consider friends. What behaviours do they demonstrate? How long have we known them? Why are they so important to us? What really attracts us to them?

Credibility can take a lifetime to establish, yet it can be stripped from you at light speed.

I can speak from experience, one erroneous move, fumble or stumble can take you many years to recover.

Credibility in business is a great deal like a credit rating in our personal life. One or two black marks on your profile and no Bank will take a risk on you, for five years at least. And why should they, if you fail to demonstrate a trustworthy past?

Selling is a contact sport and when it comes to competitors it should be full body contact!

Competition serves the collective good. Merchants are kept on their toes and customers are able to select a provider that best meets their needs or desires. Many business people underestimate their competitors ― pretending they don’t exist or their offer is irrelevant or somehow inferior. Dont make that mistake.

By default, we often frame competitors as the enemy. We’ve never met them, nor do we want to. If they’re flying a flag with a different brand ― they’re evil! This belief is not only ignorant, it’s limiting and ultimately self-defeating.

Often a sale will come down to a final negotiation when two or more parties aim to draw a body of communication to some form of conclusion.

In Australia, negotiating is frequently referred to as “haggling” and is not considered part of our laconic and laid back business culture.

I recently met with, Morry Morgan the co-owner of ClarkMorgan Corporate Training. His new book, ‘Selling Big to China’ delves into Morry’s ten years of on the ground experience selling in China and also provides insights into Asian business culture.

For every two customers you win at least one should buy again or refer you to a friend. We all exist in a hyper-connected and transparent business world. If people aren’t sharing their positive experiences about you with others, something about what you do needs to change.

Although competition is vicious and margins in most markets are being eroded, customers still and always will pay for value and quality service. In fact, we crave it. Deep in our psyche we all have an innate need to be loved and included. Moreover, to be valued, appreciated and remembered. This is the essence of what I refer to as, RetroService.